Maya would like to introduce you to her new baby brother, Jonah! There will be lots of dancing, singing, and playing this year, so we hope you'll come along for the ride. Keep visiting, and leave us a comment so we know you were here!

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

We are in Connecticut, visiting family, and I forgot the cord that allows me to download photos. Here are some serious oldies, to tide you over until we get home on Sunday. Sorry everyone! "I am only 10 days old in this picture. You see how peaceful I used to be??"

"This was back when I first found my smile. I thought everything was soooo funny."

"Mommy used to really love this outfit. It's so sad that I had to outgrow all my cute little baby clothes."

We have tried many slides, at various parks and playgrounds. Usually, Maya goes down the slide with Daddy or me. A couple of times, we've tried sending her down the slide on her own, and it has never been a success. Once she got stuck. Then, another time, she did a 180 and ended up bumping her head on the side of the slide. Lastly, she once had an incident where she actually fell forward and ended up almost doing a somersault down the slide. Therefore, we always go down with her. We found this slide at the mall this weekend, and it was perfect for Maya. The only problem is that she isn't sure how to go down on her tush. Hmmmm. We'll have to work on this.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

This past Sunday, Maya and I travelled to Nashua, New Hampshire, to meet Aunt Nora and Aunt Debs. The trip was about an hour and 45 minutes - not too bad for a lunch date. Anyway, we met at the mall, and had a nice lunch at Joe's Bar and Grill. Then, we took a walk through the mall. We stopped at a toy store, which Maya thoroughly enjoyed. She really tore the place apart though. I felt a little bad, as I ran after her to clean up, but she had so much fun. Stay tuned for more videos from our mall visit. We had a great time, and hope to do it again soon.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Last week, Grammy brought the water table to New Hampshire. At first, I thought we'd never use it, considering the fact that up until last week, it had been way too cold to play outside with water. Anyway, it's finally in the 80's, so Maya and I ventured outside, onto the porch, with the water table. Maya had a terrific time playing with her toys, and we discovered the fact that the porch is the greatest part of this house. Oh, the porch, and the ridiculously incredible water pressure. All in all, things are shaping up! "This is not a sad face - I'm just concentrating."

Friday, July 17, 2009

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Apparently we need a pebble driveway, because Maya loves it. When we were at the wedding this weekend, she spent the whole time picking up handfuls of rocks, and sorting them among the cooler tops. She was especially proud of her giant rock. I mean, she really loved that rock. You can tell she's very serious and busy, because she barely looks up when I talk to her. Now, if only I could figure out Maya's sorting system...

Monday, July 13, 2009

We had a very busy weekend of partying. On Saturday we drove back to Connecticut, and went straight to a wedding. Kevin's friend from college was getting married, and they had a beautiful backyard wedding. Maya had a great time playing with the driveway pebbles, and sorting them on the coolers by the bar. There was a dog and chicken at the wedding. I think the dog lived there, and the chicken belonged to the neighbors. The funny thing was, during the wedding ceremony, the chicken came up to Maya and started sniffing around her feet (she was in the stroller). She was happily chewing on a pretzel stick. Unfortunately, only moments later, the chicken jumped up and took a big peck out of Maya's pretzel. She was not amused, and basically went bananas. It was pretty funny. Anyway, after the wedding, we went to Dave and Jessica's Jack and Jill Shower in Cheshire. We had a great meal, visited old friends, and did a lot of playing. We finally made the trek to Southbury to sleep at Grammy and Grampy's house around 9:30. Maya was a party animal, and enjoyed every moment of the 2 parties. On Sunday morning, we visited Kevin's family, where Maya had a chance to play with all her cousins, and her aunts and uncles. We had a busy, fun weekend. Maya was so sleepy, she slept for 12 hours last night! "Mommy and Daddy let me play during the ceremony. I was trying to get away from the chicken."

"That chicken had better not try to get my pretzel!"

"Mmmm. Good food."

"I love the rocks at this place!"

"Come on, guys! Let's play!"

"I like the doggie and the chicken, but I'm still a little scared..."

"This is me, sorting rocks on the coolers. You see my big rock? What a score!"

Sunday, July 12, 2009

We have finally moved into our "new" house, and I have to say, it's less than optimal. We chose to rent this particular house, because we liked the size, location, and honestly, it seemed to be in pretty good condition. The other houses for rent in the area, seemed really dumpy, old, and very overpriced. Anyway, as we moved into the house, I noticed some issues that I think might be difficult to reconcile. For one thing, the kitchen is the size of a shoebox, with very little storage space. I like to cook, so this will be a challenge for me. Furthermore, I swear that the cabinets stink. I can't pinpoint the smell, but something about them is very stinky. Kevin doesn't agree, but I still think I'm right. Also, no matter how you enter the house, you have to walk up a flight of stairs, to get to the main floor. I really wouldn't mind, but with a baby and groceries or other goodies, it becomes a big challenge. Hmmmm. What else? Oh, the crows. These crows sit on the powerlines outside our house and go, "CAW CAW CAW" for hours every morning. It's... loud. However, on a different note, Maya's room is nice and dark and quiet, so she sleeps well there, and so do we. Plus, it is bigger than our last house, which is a nice luxury. Anyway, Maya is getting used to our new surroundings, and she's loving her newfound space. "Hi. I'm playing in my new house."

"Guess what? I take a bath in a real tubby now! Forget the sink - I'm going big time!"

"Mommy doesn't like it when I pretend to fall out of my chair. She gets scared. Hee hee."

I have a million stories to tell, about our new house, new town, and weekend in Connecticut, but I also have a really sweet story about our most recent shopping trip. This afternoon, we were travelling back from a weekend in Connecticut, and we decided to make a pit stop at Costco. Those of you who know Kevin and me, know that this is not a big surprise. We are slightly addicted to Costco, and were saddened to find out that there wasn't a Costco any closer than 1.5 hours away. Boo hoo. Anyway, we stopped at the Costco in Springfield this afternoon, to stock up on our staples. Maya ate 3 samples of Madras Lentils, vanilla ice cream with blueberries, and a very tasty looking bruschetta cracker. Yum. Anyway, we got out to the car and started the process of loading our ridiculous amount of stuff. Maya calmly sat in the front of the cart while we were loading. When I got to the peaches (we bought a 12 peach pallet), I noticed there was one missing. I couldn't figure out where it went, and I was sad that it had probably rolled away. Um, no. Apparently Maya had reached around to the back of the cart, grabbed a peach, and was going to town, fiercely gobbling it down. She was very proud of herself. "You see where Mommy left those peaches? Puh-lease! How could I go without eating them?!"

Friday, July 3, 2009

We're finally in New Hampshire! Kevin came here on Sunday night, and Maya and I followed on Tuesday. We've been living in a hotel until today, when we are moving into out new house. Well, I'd hardly call it "new," but it's new to us. This has been a hard week, as we are in very close quarters, and we aren't used to this area. It's a lot of change for Maya, too. I can't wait to settle into our new place, so Maya can have some routine again. I'll take some pics of the new house when it's looking a little more unpacked. Oh, and also, I will have NO internet access until next Friday, so I'll take lots of photos, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to update. I promise - once we're settled, I'll start updating regularly again!

"This water table is awesome!"

"My last walk with Grampy, before we moved. We saw the horsies one last time, and I loved it!"